Ballet Shoes
by GothikStrawberry
Summary: Sorta Sequel to Make-believe. Mostly about Wanda and her obsession with red ballet shoes. Fluff. Please R&R!


Red Ballet Slippers

She doesn't know why or how, but every time she goes to the Mall the Scarlet Witch finds herself in front of the window display of the local sporting goods store.

Sometimes she sits down on the bench straight across from the store, eating ice-cream or something similar until the security guard comes and asks her to leave. When she is asked to leave she complies, but not before she makes a jerking motion as if she were about to pounce on the poor flat-scan that drew the short stick this time. One of them actually pissed himself.

Good times.

Sometimes, when she is on her way home or to another store, she just passes by, trying to take a inconspicuous glance at the those ruby red slippers that have her so enchanted.

Red ballet shoes.

She has no use for them. She doesn't dance anymore. Hasn't since she was 10 years old. (Though she can't seem to remember why she gave up something she loved so much.) And those shiny shoes are to pretty to be used for everyday purposes no matter who fashionable it maybe. To expensive too.

And yet when she returns to her spot on the bench across from that window, because her nightmares have been particularly vicious that day or that week, she is always relieved to see that they haven't been sold when she returns.

Today is one these days.

And so, armed with nothing but a small cup of Häagen Dazs Banoffe ice-cream (which is also too expensive, but on days like these she really needs some comfort food) she makes her way to the bench across from the shop window that lets her dream pleasant dreams of a time when all she had to do to feel better was put on some music and dance.

But today the only ballet shoes she can spot are the most mundane shade of pale pink.

Deject she sinks into the bench.

'It was silly to stare at them like that anyway.' Wanda chastises herself as she removes the lid of the Häagen Dazs and takes that first spoon.

But somehow it just doesn't taste right today. However before she can get up an make her way back home she hears a familiar "whooshing" sound as a gust of wind gathers up her coat as well as small papers people have thrown on the floor.

Instinctively she turns to her left to find her twin brother sitting beside her.

"So this is were you went off to. I was hoping you would stay away from here for another couple of days," he sighs.

"Pietro…" Wanda replies in her most menacing voice, unintentionally letting the air crackle with her power.

"Calm down, will you," her twin snaps. "I'm not here to make fun of you. I'm here because I though you might have discovered that your shoes were missing."

"You knew."

"Yeah, well … when you super fast everyone else is super slow. So even when you look at them out of the corner of your eye for a couple of seconds, it's like your staring at them for a whole five minutes. At least to me."

"So you want to cheer me up?" Wanda asks, feeling a little stunned.

Pietro hadn't come to cheer her up since their father took them from the Maximoffs. She knew now that they hey were flat-scans and couldn't really take care of them anymore once their powers surfaced and it would have only been a matter of time when they would have begun to fear them. But back then she had been heart-broken and Pietro had snuck into her room taking her arms and even sharing cookies and sweets.

"You could act a little less surprised." Came a snippy retort, before her mercurial brother calmed down once again. "I also wanted to ask if you wanted to take ballet classes again."

"And who would teach a mutant?" Wanda snorts.

"So you've thought about it." The speedster concluded.

"Yes." The probability manipulating mutant replies, looking at her boots.

"Maybe we could make a deal, with that woman that teaches Pryde. Steffi Huntington or something."

"Stevie Hunter." The scarlet clad girl corrects her brother. "She's only the best ballet dancer of the last decade, she won't charge us a fortune at all. And Xavier is going to have kittens once Kitty-Cat tells him the Scarlet Witch was in ballet class today – not to mention that she and the rest of her buddies would probably laugh us right out of town."

Pietro just shrugged. "Maybe we could work something out."

"With who?" Wanda asked. "With father. No, he wouldn't approve. With Ms. Hunter? But she can't offer her services for free and I all out of practice anyway."

Pietro frownes, before he tells her to wait here. Of course she doesn't have to wait long, in a blink of an eye her brother returns with a box that's wrapped in plain brown wrapping paper.

"Here. Open it." He commands.

Despite herself she doesn't tell Pietro to 'shove it', after all he is trying to be nice. Even if he is incredible annoying while doing so.

So she opens her present only to find her ruby red slippers.

"The guys and I pooled our money." Pietro says, rolling his eyes. "So Happy Birthday. Even if it's a bit premature."

Their birthday isn't until next week and Wanda just stares at Pietro. Then she stares at her ballet shoes. Then at Pietro once more, before she pulls him into a tight hug.

"Wanda … are you cry--- ouch!" Pietro can't even finish the sentence before Wanda's fist connects with his upper arm.

"Just shut up and don't ruin the moment, Pietro." Wanda simply tells her brother firmly. And as if the wonders would never cease he actually does what he is told.

"Let's go home." Pietro wisphers. "You know if we leave the others alone for to long they turn in to a group of crazy monkeys."

Wanda snorts. Pietro is usually the instigator of all the monkey business that goes on in the Brotherhood House.

"Nah, lets wait until security asks us to leave. Tormenting them is fun."

Pietro chuckles. "I like the way you think, sis."

"Of course you do." She replies with a mischievous smile, only to turn serious once more. "Do you really think I should take dance lessons again?"

"Would it make you happy?"

"I thinks so."

"Then you should do it." Pietro says firmly, "We'll figure something out."

She knows as well as he does that they don't have the resources and that their father will probably see it as a useless pastime and probably won't pay for it. But for now that doesn't matter. For now they can pretend that everything is going to be fine.


End file.
